Cloud ERP adoption in SMEs of New Zealand Retail Industry: exploring CSFs and risks

The adoption of cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems highly benefit small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in competitive markets. These systems assist in reducing costs and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the company. ERP systems have developed from on-premise to cloud-based, which is based on cloud computing features to store data on online databases. However, there are no studies that have investigated the critical success factors (CSFs) and risk factors for adopting cloud ERP systems, particularly in New Zealand (NZ) retail SMEs. Based on decision makers' perspectives, this paper identifies the CSFs and risk factors that affect cloud ERP adoption by SMEs in NZ using a case from retail industry. Five in-depth interviews were conducted with cloud ERP decision makers to create a comprehensive picture of cloud ERP adoption. The findings reveal effective cloud ERP software management, business plan and vision, as well as adopters' sufficient education and training as the CSFs. Lack of awareness and knowledge, and in-house resistance are the risk factors for cloud ERP adoption. The findings deliver practical insights for decision-making teams that can assist companies to successfully adopt cloud ERP systems.